Poll bias takes many forms
02/18/2014
Even after watching the previews, I am not sure how I will feel about the forthcoming Russell Crowe movie presenting a richly embellished account of the Noah story (turning 46…
Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street
02/11/2014
Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party followed similar trajectories. Both grew, seemingly as grassroots movements, enjoyed brief popularity and are now widely disliked by the electorate. But the two…
Critiques more biased than poll
02/04/2014
Readers know I strongly support President Obama and may recall my tremendous respect, affection and admiration for Secretary of State John Kerry. When I find a public out of sync…
SOTU bounce a myth
01/28/2014
It’s time for my now annual reminder that no one should expect the State of the Union speech to bolster the president’s approval ratings. The SOTU bounce is largely a…
The end of the investor class
01/21/2014
Political theories originally heralded as “the new new thing” often disappear without notice. So it was with the “investor class,” once a bedrock of GOP thinking. As more Americans became…
Inequality: Big problem, poor message
01/14/2014
Last week I argued that income equality in the U.S. has reached historic highs (and also is greater than in any other advanced country) and that such inequality is neither…
Rich still getting richer
01/07/2014
The rich get richer. Andrew Jackson may have been the first to register the complaint in those terms. “When the laws undertake ... to make the rich richer and the…
Where I went right and wrong
12/17/2013
I believe in accountability; and I believe there is far too little of it in our world. People say anything they please, with little or no consequence for crazy talk.…
The death of the original
12/10/2013
Once upon a time, a barber stopped cutting hair and devoted himself full time to cutting people — not to kill, but to cure. Émile Durkheim taught us the history…
Learning from whiplash
12/03/2013
As America sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, it suffered from an almost unparalleled case of political whiplash. The whiplash was induced by what seems like the most rapid reversal of…